Worth Getting To Know
by In Open Air
Summary: Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi go on a mission into Grass Country, which makes Iruka believe in the necessity of second impressions.
1. Chapter 1

"I don't think they're ready for this," huffed Iruka, leaning indignantly against the wall of the missions office. It was evening. Iruka watched, angrily, as the sun slipped away. When it rose tomorrow, Naruto would be on his way to Grass Country with Sakura and _that_ man.

It was not as though he hated the man. It was a mild distaste for his mannerisms, really. Not the entire person. He knew too little about him to hate him. After all, he hardly saw the mysterious jounin, except when he turned in his reports or bumped into him in the streets. He could go for months without hearing a word about the particular person, or if he did, it was with disinterest. Only when he did something completely careless and irresponsible did the full magnitude of Iruka's distaste surface. Only when it involved the wellbeing of his students. That was when he hated Kakashi. And he hated Kakashi now.

"Hm." Genma twirled his senbon, and looked out the window.

"Exactly! It's too soon after _he_ left." Iruka paced the floors. "I just think they should wait a little."

"Who should wait?" The voice belonged to neither of them.

Genma and Iruka spun around. Kakashi stood in the doorway, holding a mission report. Iruka shot him a harsh glare. He _always_ showed up when he was being talked about.

"Y-you!"

Kakashi feigned surprise. He sauntered to the desk and placed his report onto a stack of others.

"It's not as though I can choose which missions I'm assigned, Iruka-sensei. Take this up with Tsunade-sama." And he always knew _why _he was being talked about. At least it saved the academy instructor the effort of bringing it up himself.

Still, Iruka had to take a deep breath so as not to march into the jounin's face.

"You can't tell me that an elite jounin has absolutely no control over his missions."

"Actually, I don't," Kakashi muttered, flicking a crumpled scrap of paper off the desk. "But you're a chuunin. What would you know about it?" He turned, a smile in his eye. Iruka reddened; he ground his teeth. Unfortunately, it was true; there was no comeback. Still, that didn't mean that Iruka would stand for it as an insult.

"You just remember, if either of them is harmed, it'll be your head," Iruka wagged a finger threateningly in Kakashi's direction.

"Oh hoho," chortled Genma from far in the corner. Iruka ignored him.

"We are ninja, Sensei. Harm is a part of the job," Kakashi brushed past him, cold, as he would brush past a stranger in a crowd. He was halfway out the door when he turned. "We leave at 5 o'clock sharp, if you want to kiss us goodbye." The Copy-Ninja grinned, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"You--! You don't care about them at all, do you!?" Iruka shouted into the dissipating cloud.

Genma started to laugh.

"Well you really let him have it."

Iruka slumped against the wall.

"Shut up, Genma." He tossed his pencil, halfheartedly. Sulkily.

"Maybe you should try doing that yourself," sassed Genma. "Kakashi's going to hate you if you keep butting heads with him." Iruka scowled.

"I don't care what he thinks of me." The pony-tailed chuunin plopped angrily into his chair, and looked at the clock. Eleven hours until they left. Iruka held his head in his hands, frustrated. It didn't seem to matter what he did. Kakashi would never listen to him. He could hear Genma walking out the door. His shift was over; there was no reason for him to hang around.

"You know, it's not easy for him to take this mission, either. If you know anything about him and Grass Country, I mean."

The jounin slid his senbon into a pouch, without another word. The door swung lightly closed behind him. What was that supposed to mean?

He sighed, dejected. It was silent. Utterly silent. The fluorescent light flickered. The door creaked open again, and a crowd of chattering chuunin filed in to hand in their reports. Iruka sighed again, and put on a cheery face. Five o'clock it would be, then.

- - - - - - -

Kakashi stood with his team outside the great gates of Konoha. The sky was a dark glowing blue; the sun was just beginning to rise. A few birds chirped short, clipped conversations. He had only taken the first steps down the road when he heard the gates reopen.

"Iruka-sensei!" Shouted Naruto, and sprinted back to greet his onetime teacher. Sakura glanced up at Kakashi, and he nodded for her to follow the yellow-haired boy. The three chatted briefly - familiarly, Kakashi noted - and then Naruto and Sakura returned. Naruto gestured for Kakashi to come closer.

"He wants to say something to you," Naruto whispered in his ear. What was it about people that made them whisper when no one was around, Kakashi wondered.

"About what?"

The boy shrugged. Kakashi sighed. He walked, with a particularly exaggerated laziness, to meet the Academy instructor at the gates. Iruka had his hands on his hips, but not angrily. At least, he was trying not to look angry. This was diplomacy.

"Kakashi-san."

"Iruka-sensei."

There was an awkward pause.

"Good luck," murmured Iruka, eyes askance. He looked up, scratching his scar, and lips stuck in a stubborn frown. Kakashi nodded, and began to walk away. Iruka sniffed, feeling, as in all his dealings with the silver-haired jounin, completely shortchanged. He turned his back on the other, heading again into Konoha.

"I protect my precious people," he heard, quietly murmured by the slouched, retreating form. It had been lighter than the wind that carried it. When Iruka spun around, he saw only the back of Kakashi's head as he strolled, slowly, away, hands plunged in his pockets. His was a solemn profile, and it did not match with the cheerful sunrise, or the bright orange of Naruto as he waved enthusiastically from up the road. Iruka gave a weak wave back. He watched the three disappear on the horizon.

The gates of Konoha closed between them.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form


	2. Chapter 2

Kakashi did not like the grass around him. It stood waving above his head, and tickled his face as he shifted through it. He could hear Naruto shuffling around. Sakura was scolding him. Ahead of them there grew a looming bamboo forest. It was not the same one as he had traveled through many years ago, but the giant stalks, their green slitted leaves, were just as it had been. Their shadows cast prison bars across the plains. He might as well have been in _that_ forest.

Kakashi did not want to be here. This country was full of ghosts. He did not like ghosts.

Something moved in front of him. He tensed. All he could hear were his students bickering.

"Quiet!"

A deer jumped. The jounin watched as it bounded away.

Kakashi shook his head, and continued walking. He looked at his hands; they gripped a kunai he could not remember drawing. He put it away. _I'm too anxious_.

Naruto and Sakura remained silent. Team Seven entered the stippled, striped shades of the bamboo forest. Giant mushrooms hovered like umbrellas above them. It was a strange jumble of vegetation and stone, and water. There was a religious isolation to it -- the feeling of entering a temple or a shrine -- that left a man alone in the world with his mind.

At least it was only a B-ranked mission. He did not think he could cope with a high-ranked mission and the phantoms of his childhood at the same time. Only the truly heartless or truly insane were capable of that. And Kakashi had known both.

Fortunately, their orders were simple. Seek out a weak, encroaching band of Earth-nin bandits. There were nine or ten of them, at most. Once they located the base, Kakashi was to notify ANBU reinforcements with one of his nin-dogs, and wait to attack until their arrival. However, that was strictly protocol. Kakashi doubted that the reinforcements would be necessary. Based on the information, these were runaways they were dealing with, underlings who had abandoned their villages without having surpassed the rank of Genin. They used their minor training and jutsu to gain an upper hand against civilians. Kakashi had seen their kind before. It would be a search and destroy mission.

They had crossed the border without incident, following the snakelike trickle of a creek over the grasslands. Now that it wound through the forest, it had widened. According to the mission description, the bandits preferred to make camp on the banks of the rivers, so that they could float their bounty downstream. The creek connected with the country's main river; Kakashi anticipated that this was where the base would be, at the fork between the two. He had seen old foot prints in the mud pointing that way. Not to mention the far off scent of ruffian. They had been tracking it for two days.

Kakashi was growing impatient.

That night he was restless. Naruto fell quickly asleep, and Sakura also. He alone could not find slumber.

Kakashi tucked his hands behind his head. The sky was clear. Innumerable stars speckled the black sky. It had been this way when Yondaime woke him; Rin had been standing, head to those same distant whites flames, by herself in the swaying grass. He rolled over. The air was cool, the perfect summer night. Too bad he couldn't enjoy it. He pulled his mask down. It was too dark for anyone to know the difference.

It was utterly silent. It would not be for long before that changed, Kakashi mused. He waited. Right on time, the symphony awoke. Millions of bugs began to sing. He remembered this. Nights beneath the stars and surrounded by chirping.

Naruto sat straight up.

"The hell!"

_Obito had said that, too_.

"Crickets, Naruto," murmured Kakashi. "They live in the grass."

Those were the words Yondaime had said to his team their first night in Grass country. Kakashi did not mention, as Yondaime had, that these were giant crickets -- the size of a fist. He had faith that Naruto would find that out on his own soon enough, when he would wake to find them hopping invasively around camp. Insects, after all, had no sense of personal space.

"Oh." Naruto flopped back down. "Damn they're loud." The blond boy tussled with his mat, then paused. It had occurred to him that his sensei should not have been awake. "Sheesh, sensei, go to bed."

"I will," he lied. "Soon."

"Hmph. Just don't crab in the morning, old man."

Kakashi chuckled softly. Naruto watched the silhouette of his sensei in the moonlight. It made him sad to see the other sit, wide awake, pensive, and distanced. There was a strange disconnect since they had left Konoha, an aloofness more saturated than normal. It was the same emptiness that he felt, now that Sasuke was gone. Naruto wondered vaguely if his sensei, too, had lost someone he cared for.

Kakashi could feel the bright blue eyes on his back. But their scrutiny lessened as Naruto drifted back to sleep.

The morning came too quickly. No painted sunrise hung from the heavens, but a dim, orange ball rising against the skyline. It was a hazy start to the day. Team Seven packed hurriedly. Kakashi caught a scent on the wind, and they chased speedily after it.

_There. _There it was again. A strange odor hanging in the air. It was unlike the others, unlike the bandits. _Perhaps it's the village, nearby_. He shrugged.

For a moment, he had thought it was Obito. But that was impossible. He knew the tangling breeze was playing tricks on him. It was not his old teammate, it was just a memory.

Because, after all, this country was full of ghosts.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note: Thank you for the comments, you guys!! : D_

The three forged on, Kakashi tracking, and Naruto and Sakura coming after. The trail was becoming more rugged, and it was increasingly difficult for Kakashi to follow. These bandits were at least clever enough not to use the same route twice. Only one pair of footprints marked the dirt, and they were by now barely visible. It had rained, it seemed, since they had been left. From what the Copy-Nin could deduce, that had been just yesterday. He made sure Sakura and Naruto watched him when he tracked. Every so often, he would ask them what they thought about a particular print, or if they could point out the trail. Someday, they would need to be able to do those things on their own. However, his efforts were perfunctory. He could not focus.

By midday, the haze had dispersed and revealed a cloudy, grey sky. They had entered another thick grove of bamboo. Kakashi skimmed easily through the foliage, and Sakura tried to mimic his liquid movements. The long leaves slapped Naruto obtrusively in the face as he barreled by.

Just as Kakashi was beginning to think that he might have misread the tracks, he emerged. As if through a curtain, he stepped through the thick bamboo into a clearing, surrounded by ancient, moss covered trees and halved by a wide river. There, in the middle of it all, stood the ruins of a giant bridge. His shoulders drooped.

"Sensei, what was this?" asked Sakura, sliding through the bamboo stalks. Kakashi kept walking. "Sensei?"

"The Kannabi bridge," he breathed, dejectedly. The kunoichi paused, then nodded.

"I think I've heard of it," she hummed, more to herself than anyone in particular. Naruto stumbled through the leaves.

"Wooa." He sprinted to catch up. "Sensei, look at that!" He pointed to the ruins. Kakashi did not look.

"We saw it already, Naruto," Sakura sassed, annoyed. "Don't be so obnoxious."

Ahead of them, Kakashi knelt at the riverbank. Fresh footprints. And a coin. There were the dark scars left from a boat. He stood. They were here.

He bit his thumb, and performed the seals for a summoning jutsu. A small, slick hound appeared at his feet. On a rumpled sheet of paper he wrote their coordinates, and the dog took it in his mouth. He rubbed its head, affectionately, and then sent it leaping away. Naruto jumped out of its path.

"What was that for?"

"We're here."

"But there's _nothing _here!"

"Shh, Naruto!" scolded Sakura. "Hidden Stone ninja used this bridge during the War. Probably these bandits are using it again, as a checkpoint. Isn't that right, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes, that's right." He squinted across to the opposite side of the river. "Their base must be over there." There was a distinct scent emanating from the place he pointed to. It stank of bandits. The same scent was on the coin covered in sand. He leapt into the canopy. "Come on, you two."

"Aren't we going to attack?" Naruto settled onto the tree branch next to him. Sakura landed to his right.

"No. Our orders are to wait for back up." Kakashi relaxed against the rough bark. "Conceal your chakra. We don't know what kinds of skills our enemies might have."

"What are we going to do in the mean time?" asked Sakura, her chakra suppressed.

"We'll split up and scout the area." Kakashi looked around. He could sense weak chakra flares from across the river. There were six of them. "Sakura, you and Naruto scout the perimeter. Note any possible escape routes, or useful geographical features. . . "

"Look underneath the underneath, right?" Sakura added. Kakashi nodded.

"Exactly. Now, I'm going to cross the river for a closer look." He stared at them seriously, his tone stony. "Do not engage in combat unless _absolutely_ necessary. We'll reconvene at this place in one hour. Be cautious."

The jounin gave a signal, and they scattered, three streaks vanishing into the forest. The river was broad, but the tree branches reached like spindly fingers and breached the gap. Nimbly, he darted from one to another, and was on the other side in seconds. Physically, it had been nothing - but it brewed a storm in his mind to have stepped across that boundary which divided his past from his present. This was the bridge he had destroyed on his long ago mission - his first mission as a jounin. This was the forest where Obito had died.

There was movement below. A compound. It was small, hardly more than a camouflaged shack. Kakashi circled in. Boats lined the wall.

It was strange. He had clearly seen a man enter the shack, but his chakra disappeared entirely. He looked closer.

Stuck to the door of the shack was a small seal, a cloaking seal. He had not expected this. It was more powerful than he thought the bandits capable of. There was no way of knowing how many lay inside. Or their strength.

Something scampered across the branches. He spun around. It was his nin-dog, hurrying towards him. Why had it come back? Kakashi saw something alarming. In the dog's jaws it held a red-stained mask. An ANBU mask. Fresh blood. The dog nudged a torn note into his hand. It was the note he had written, but scribbled in the corner was one word that was not his own. It made him flinch. Ambush.

"Are they all dead?"

The dog nodded. Kakashi rubbed his forehead apprehensively. This was bad.

"Good work," he patted the dog on the head. "You can go home."

The dog yipped softly and licked his face. It could sense his frustration, and also some other nagging emotion, a painful, piercing reminiscence. Kakashi gave him a little grin, and mussed his hair. "Go on, now." The dog whimpered but poofed away, albeit reluctantly.

Team Seven was alone. There was no support, now, when he might actually need it. Kakashi sighed. Someone had slaughtered a whole team of ANBU. That was not the work of a bumbling band of bandits. That was the work of someone much more dangerous. If it had been one person, then they were surely A-ranked, at least. This was not the time for an A-ranked mission. Kakashi sighed. Why did he always end up given faulty information?

He still had fifteen minutes before Team Seven met up.

"They had better be there."

Stealthily, Kakashi skimmed the trees surrounding the compound. He came as near as he dared, tallying up the chakra flares he could sense. That seal. It was interfering with everything. But he could not risk removing it. His orders were not to attack, and it would be foolish to do so. He would gather as much information as possible, and then retreat with Naruto and Sakura. A second ANBU team would be dispensed from the post on the border, since clearly something had happened to the first. ANBU were in constant communication with the borders, so their disappearance would soon be noticed. However, a replacement would not arrive for a good five hours, top speed. Team Seven would lay in hiding until then.

_There! _There it was again. A flicker, well disguised, but there all the same. There was definitely something powerful lurking in these woods. And how he hated to be in these woods--

A kunai wizzed past his head.

_What the hell! _

Where had it come from? He leapt higher into the canopy. A scent, noxious and sharp, assaulted his nostrils. Poison. The blade was poisoned. Good thing he had dodged. Five more streaked past him, each on the branch where he placed his foot. He shot across the treetops.

_Okay, I've definitely been noticed. _

He searched the forest floor. From the trajectory of the kunai, they had to have been thrown from below. A tiny spec of a ninja stood outside the shack, peering into the leafy crowns of the trees. Yet he was not facing Kakashi anymore. Actually, from the looks of it, he had never even aimed at Kakashi. He didn't even know Kakashi was there. _Those were damn lucky shots. _

He was looking at a bright orange target, pressed against a high up trunk. All the way across the compound. There was only one ninja that it could be. Kakashi frowned.

_Naruto_.

The boy seemed to be holding his own. Aside from having been detected. He was deflecting all of the attacks. But he would not be able to hold out forever. Kakashi did not want to do it. It would give away his position. But he would have to. He flicked out a kunai, took aim, and threw. It squelched through the enemy's neck. The bandit slumped to the ground. Kakashi darted to Naruto who stood stunned that his assailant had been inexplicably felled.

"Sensei!" he shouted.

"Shh!" Kakashi clamped a hand over the boy's mouth, and looked around. No one had come out of the shack. The body remained untouched. "Why are you here?" Naruto pulled his sensei's hand off his face.

"Dead body! We found a dead body." Kakashi groaned. The situation was worsening by the second.

"What were they wearing?"

"A mask." Kakashi froze.

"What kind of mask, Naruto?" The blond-haired boy thought for a second, scratching his head.

"An animal mask."

_Just great. _If there was only one of them, that meant that it was an ANBU scout that had been killed around the perimeter. They should not have been so close. That meant that something had gone wrong, and the scout had been sent to warn them. But only the dead scout knew against what.

"Where's Sakura?" asked Kakashi, realizing her absence. If they had split up. . .

"We split up."

Kakashi almost smacked himself. That was the worst move they could have made. He had sent them together for a reason. So that they could cover each other. Sakura had the mental strength, and Naruto the physical. Together, Kakashi trusted that they could deal with any enemies should they be surprised. Now Sakura was alone.

"Where is she now?"

"At the tree where you told us to meet."

"Let's go there."

Kakashi put an extra boost to each step. He was uneasy. A whole squad of ANBU, dead, and a scout on the perimeters. Something was picking them off. With that seal, any number of ninja could be hiding out in the shack, waiting for an opportunity to attack. Sakura being alone was not good.

"Sakura, I found sensei," Naruto called seeing a pink figure, and bounded ahead and onto the branch. There she stood.

Sakura turned, surprised.

"I was beginning to worry, Naruto!" She walked towards him. "Good thing you're here now." Kakashi narrowed his eyes. Something was not right. Without a second thought, he broke her neck.

"Sensei! What the hell! What-"

"That wasn't Sakura."

He kicked the limp body out of the tree's embrace. Sure enough, before it hit the ground it had become a bandit. Kakashi looked up.

"There's Sakura." Sitting with her back to the other side of the tree trunk was the young kunoichi, bound and gagged. It had been a weak ninja, indeed, if they needed to use ropes. Kakashi glanced down at the dead body. Its right leg was splayed deformedly, and its back twisted. "Untie her. Hurry."

"What took you so long, Naruto!" she gasped, tearing the gag from her mouth as soon as her hands were free.

Kakashi nodded. That was the real Sakura.

However, there was no time for relief. It was quickly overcast by something more ominous. He sensed something. They had hidden themselves well, but all around him, he began to see faces. Ten pairs of black, shadowed eyes, surrounding them completely. They wore the masks of the slaughtered ANBU.

"Prepare yourselves."

"For what?"

Kakashi gestured with his chin. "We're surrounded."


	4. Chapter 4

The two genin tensed behind him. Kakashi scanned the area for any more enemies. He could perceive none. It would be ten against three. Not great odds, but their enemies did not seem particularly strong. They wore the ANBU masks, but Kakashi suspected that they had not been the ones to kill them.

They made the first move.

"Behind you!" Kakashi swung a fist. It connected hard with an enemy's jaw. The mask shattered to pieces, and the ninja plummeted to the earth. Just as he had thought. These were pawns. "Pay attention, you two."

They had the environment on their side. It would be a battle in the trees, surroundings much like the forests of Konoha. If they could keep everything aerial, they might maintain an advantage.

"Here they come."

Their enemies swooped in as one. They had no strategy; they were relying on the strength of their numbers. Naruto took out two, his kage bunshins overwhelming them, and Sakura one. There were six left. Three leapt at Kakashi at once. He easily side-stepped their blows. They were clumsy. Kakashi would only need Taijutsu here; he would not need to waste chakra. He spun into a combination, kicking one into the other. Their heads slammed together, and they grappled with a branch too brittle to hold their collective weight. It snapped and they joined their dead comrades decorating the forest floor. The third pulled back, gathered his bearings, and then launched himself. Kakashi ducked, and caught the attacker by the feet. With a quick flick, he threw him to the ground.

Three remained. Kakashi gave them a mean glare. One flinched. The hesitation was all he needed; Kakashi plunged a kunai into its throat, tugged it out and slashed the next enemy. One left. Five of Naruto's kage bunshins crashed into it; one poofed into a puff of smoke, dispelled by a punch. The other four crushed the nin's face. The enemy fell with a howl.

Team Seven landed back on the branch.

"Good work. Anyone hurt?" Naruto and Sakura shook their heads. Kakashi's eyes flitted to the direction of the shack. The seal was gone. An immense chakra exploded from inside it. "Don't let your guard down yet."

_It's headed this way. _Kakashi grimaced bitterly. These were the ones who had killed the ANBU. He could smell the jarring metallic aroma of blood and knives. It was the ANBU's blood on those knives. On those hands.

The tree shook.

It shook again.

Kakashi looked down. Someone was _punching_ the tree. Great waves of earth were rolling into the trunk. One of their enemies was not dead -- it was the one whose face they had crushed. Kakashi stared down at him. He was otherwise unscatched, and trying to ground them. There was a deafening crack. The tree was falling.

"Jump!"

All three took to the air. Naruto's foot slipped, but Sakura grabbed his arm and steadied him. They came down in a branch some yards lower than they had been. Kakashi flung himself further, to the knotted trunk of a tree, using chakra to force a hold. The enemy sent roaring surges of earth to strike the tree in which stood the two genin, trying to uproot it.

Kakashi would let this enemy distract himself with that. Naruto and Sakura were quick enough, they would be able to jump to another tree, no matter how many were demolished.

If he could position himself just so. . . He grinned. Sakura had the same idea. He glanced a pink flash latched onto the tree at his right. It was a clone, kunai in hand. Kakashi nodded to it. He sent one of his own kage bunshins flying at the preoccupied enemy. As expected, the enemy sensed the attack and spun around. With a flick of the wrist, he had dispelled Kakashi's kage bunshin. The flick of a _wrist. _It disappeared in a cloud of smoke, but right behind it was Sakura's doppelganger. She jerked her kunai into the stunned enemy's jugular and was gone. The waves of earth froze, a cracked statue of the crashing surf. The enemy was dead.

He heard Naruto cheer. Which was followed by a smack. Sakura was telling him to shut up.

Kakashi went silent, listening. The forest was eerie. He could hear the fluttering of leaves, shivering as if in anticipation of something much more terrible. Where was the sudden surge of chakra he had sensed? He looked around, eye narrowed and searching. Vibrations. There were vibrations. Underground.

He leapt into the air.

The tree he had clung to exploded, splintering into a million pieces. Naruto shouted in surprise. Sakura gasped. A huge man stood in the pit that was once a tree - it was an Earth-nin. Tiny wooden slivers and specs of dirt rained down around him. Yes, this was definitely the one who had killed the ANBU. He was extremely strong, to blow up a solid, five hundred foot tree _completely_.

Kakashi caught himself in the limbs of the neighboring tree.

"You've killed my bandits," shouted the immense Earth-nin. "But they were weak. I won't be killed so easily." He flipped open a small book, and pointed to a page, holding it high for all to see. It was a Bingo Book. "I know who you are, Hatake Kakashi, and you've got a fine bounty on your head." He laughed raucously. "50 million Ryou should be more than enough to cover the damages. Not to mention the price I should get for all the ANBU I killed."

Kakashi grimaced. He hated to hear others boast, but this man was right. If he had killed a squad of ANBU, he would not go down easily.

"I see you there, hiding in the trees!"

Kakashi saw the seals being formed. It was another earth-based jutsu. The tree he was standing in exploded. Kakashi flitted to another. So the enemy could sense him, even with his chakra concealed.

Yet Kakashi was puzzled. How was he destroying the trees with an earth-based jutsu? Then he noticed the dirt covering his uniform.

_Oh, I think I get it. _He poised in another tree and waited. Ah, yes. The vibrations. He jumped before it exploded. Just as he had anticipated, there was dirt and bits of stone splaying with the remnants of the tree. And it had exploded from the bottom up. _He's shooting earth through the trunks. But the vibrations give him away. Maybe I can wear him out if I stay in the trees. _

Kakashi continued to leap between the ancient boughs. The Earth-nin had to have a huge chakra pool to draw from if he could keep up such a flamboyant strategy.

He performed a few quick seals. He wanted to test the other before he moved in for any serious combat. He sent five kage bunshins to the ground, each hidden. From above, Kakashi threw a single kunai, quick and aimed for the head, at the same time the kage bunshins performed Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu, spewing fire at the surrounded Earth-nin.

The Earth-nin ducked and punched the ground; the earth rumbled, and the trees shook. Rubble surrounded him, and flew into the kage bunshins. They disappeared into smoke. The tumbling earth reminded Kakashi suddenly of another time, when the rocks had fallen from above. He shook his head.

The kunai glanced off the wall of stone, useless. The dust began to settle. A gaping pit remained. Kakashi gulped. _Above all _he would have to avoid a direct hit.

"Come out and fight me like a man, hand to hand. Stealth is nothing against Doroboo Doro."

Kakashi scoffed. Like hell he would fight him hand to hand. He had heard of the name before; Doroboo Doro, too, was listed in a Bingo Book, known, foremost, for his ridiculous strength. Just looking at the man, that was obvious enough. Kakashi would use long-range attacks as much as he could.

"Hmph, if you won't come down, I'll come up."

Within seconds, the Earth-nin had scaled the trees. He was fast for his bulk. Incredibly fast. The two crouched in opposite trees from one another, glaring.

"You're no match for me," grinned the Earth-nin, grinding his teeth. Kakashi's eyes were blank. Threats did not bother him. It was not the reaction the other had wanted. He lunged at him. Kakashi was too quick, he dodged higher into the canopy. The farther he could get him from the earth, the weaker his earth based attacks would be.

It seemed that he was being chased, but in reality he was leading.

Just then he saw a flash of orange. _No, no, no. Naruto, don't you dare._ Kakashi looked past the hulking Earth-Nin. Two kage bunshins were speeding towards them, the spinning rasengan between them. But rasengan demanded too close of a range to be used against this opponent; the Earth-Nin could detect concealed chakra, was rock solid _and_ deathly quick. He would dodge and annihilate the boy before he could touch him. The enemy was strong and clever, no common crook.

It was happening exactly as Kakashi had foreseen. Naruto was now within striking range, but the Earth-nin had long ago noticed him. The gigantic shoulders turned, arms flexed ready to punch. If it hit, which Kakashi did not doubt it would, it would be lethal. Worse, Naruto no longer had enough speed; he had miscalculated the distance.

His hands flew through the seals.

"Suiton Daibakufu no Jutsu," Kakashi shouted. Water came spinning up from the river below, between Naruto and the Earth-nin. Both attacks, the punch and the rasengan struck the swirling spiral of water and ripped through it. The aftershock from the punch, perfectly aimed, continued through at a fraction of its former strength and sent Naruto flying. The kage bunshin had been destroyed on contact.

Sakura darted across the clearing to stop Naruto's fall, and caught herself hastily on a branch too small to hold the two. It snapped, but it had slowed them enough that they landed unhurt. A torrent of water rained down on them.

The Earth-nin, stunned, landed back where he had stood, with Kakashi, eyes simmering and Sharingan revealed, across from him. Inexplicably, the Earth-nin began to laugh. Tumultuous, bellowing, hateful laughter.

"I know your weakness," he said with a toothy grin, and then seals. Kakashi glared. He did not know what weakness this other could mean.

The Earth-nin dropped to a lower branch. Kakashi's eyes widened - he recognized the seals. That jutsu would kill him for sure, if it hit. It was then, however, that he realized that his enemy was not looking at him; he was looking down. He was looking at Naruto and Sakura. They were not paying attention. Doroboo Doro glared up at Kakashi viciously. Then he was off, leaping through the trees towards the two unaware genin, fist clenched, and ready to strike with all the chakra he had gathered into his arm.

Kakashi cried out to the two, but it was too late. He sped after the Earth-nin, using every ounce of speed he could muster.

Dropping down to a branch directly above his students - crackling white chakra gathered in his hand - he flung himself at the Earth-nin.

He was faster than the other. He could feel Chidori plunging through the Earth-nin's chest, and the suck of blood around his arm. But he knew it was over, and that he had lost. He knew he had come too close, and that he would not be able to escape. He had knocked the enemy off course, which was all that mattered. Now he would take the blow. The Earth-nin grabbed his arm. He could see the deadly arc, hear the air whooshing as the enemy swung.

The fist came crashing down, all of the Earth-nin's power poured into one punch. There was no way to dodge. It slammed into him.

Sakura screamed when she heard the horrible crunch, the gasp as all air left his lungs, and the cough as the punch was twisted home.

It was one moment - among few in his lifetime - when time slowed to a crawl. He noticed the most miniscule details, the saltiness of the blood trickling down his lips, the menacing shadows of the trees on the forest floor below, the speckled rubble. He imagined, in that brief crawl of time, that this would have been how Obito felt, as the weight of the world had fallen down upon him. The weight of the end.

Then time caught itself up. He was flying through the air, the wind whistling in his ears. Tumbling, falling and then a thud as he hit the ground with more force than he had thought possible. He could feel himself crumple, curl into himself, and shudder. He did not move.

There was a thump as the Earth-nin landed over him. Blood dripped down unto him from above - the Earth-nin's chest had been torn apart. But he was still alive, and he lifted Kakashi by the collar. He held him in front of himself by a fistful of shirt, and with a grin twisted by anger- a grin that expected the satisfaction of killing - he whispered into Kakashi's ear.

"For that, you are going to die."

Kakashi did not deny it. The Earth-nin clasped a giant hand around Kakashi's throat. There was a look of struggle that passed briefly over his masked features. His arms hung limply, and his feet dangled in the air, but his toes and fingers curled.

Naruto shouted, and the Earth-nin laughed.

"You're next!" shouted Doroboo Doro.

A sudden specter of coldness flashed in the red of the Sharingan, as it peered out from a half-lidded eye. The Earth-nin's chest began to hiss, and smoke. He looked down in alarm. The corner of a crimson stained paper peaked from the hole in his chest. There was a word scrawled on it - explode.

"You. . . used a tag!"

There was a blaze of fire and heat that engulfed them. There was a deafening bang, and the paper exploded; Kakashi fell to the ground, and rubble and blood and body fell around him.

- - - - - - - - - - -

There was darkness. And the horrible clutch of unconsciousness. As he lay, insensible, he was gripped by the knowledge of his failure. He had killed his enemy, but his enemy had killed him, too. Now his students would be left to fend for themselves in strange territory, with the possibility of other attackers lurking. His mind flashed to the day they had set out; he had told Iruka that he would protect his students. That should have been a warning to him, that everything would go awry. That should have been a sign. But then again, he had never been very good at heeding signs. It seemed, rather, that their aftermath always hit him in the face.

At least the academy instructor would have the satisfaction of knowing that he had been right; they should have never taken this mission. Nothing good had ever happened to him in Grass Country.

Kakashi sighed. He found it ironic that he should die here, at the feet of the bridge he had lost so much to destroy. After so many years, everything had managed to come back to that.

He was dimly aware of faces, hovering blurredly, without features. They could have been anyone, although he really only saw one person. Yellow hair and blue eyes. Somewhere in the distance, a soothing female voice, and the raucous boyish tone of a team mate. They were the sounds of ghosts.

"He's awake!"

When he opened his eyes it was not to what he had expected. It was to his students.

"Kakashi-sensei! Sensei, you're alive!"

He coughed. A flare of pain enveloped him, from his feet to his scalp. His entire body throbbed, aching with the slow, dull, unsure beat of his heart.

He blinked his eyes. Naruto was leaning over him, and Sakura next to him.

"I guess I am."

Hot tears fell onto his cheek. Which one of them was crying?

He tried to move, tried to prove to them that he was fine, and that there was nothing for them to worry about. Every bone, every muscle, every fiber screamed in a stab of torture.

"Ahhhh. . . " he closed his eyes. "I might die yet," he thought, morosely, then realized that he had spoken out loud.

"Sensei, please don't say that!" Sakura covered her face. So she was the one crying. No, Naruto's lip was wavering too. He must look _bad. _

"I might make it. . . "

He was lying. He could feel blood in his lungs. He had come near to death many times in his life, but pain such as this he had never experienced.

"Are you two alright?" was all he could think to ask. The last thing he remembered was his fall. He did not know what had happened to the Earth-nin. He had hoped that he had stopped him, but he could not be sure.

The two looked up, suddenly. Kakashi heard it too. Footsteps, approaching in the treetops. Six pairs of feet dropped out of nowhere. Ah, ANBU. He could always rely on their bad sense of timing.

He let himself drift back into blackness, knowing that the ANBU would lead his students back to Konoha.

Kakashi woke only once between the Kannabi bridge and the sterile halls of the hospital. The crickets did it. Obito could never sleep with them, either. Flitting grass tickling his nose, a passing glimpse of forests and stone. He was being carried, a rocking, lurching, stop and go motion. The urge to vomit churned in him. Vaguely, he remembered heaving, fingers dug into the earth, and a gloved hand brushing back his hair.

He preferred the darkness. Because, after all, this land was full of ghosts. And he wanted to leave them behind.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note: Thanks again for all the comments! I reaaallly appreciate them! : )_

Iruka sat at his desk in the mission's room. It was not busy, but there was a casual stream milling in and out. Tsunade sat at a table far to his right, reading over a stack of new reports. She seemed to be nervous, and Iruka wondered what it was about. She chewed on the end of her pen. But he did not pry.

Shizune burst into the room.

"Tsunade-sama, please come quickly!"

Tsunade looked up. Iruka froze.

"The ANBU squad has returned from Grass Country, with Team Seven," Shizune glanced around the room. All heads had turned to face her. She lowered her voice. "Tsunade-sama . . . " she trailed off, and the hokage sensed the graveness to her tone. It was a tone reserved for serious situations. Situations that involved death.

"Take me to them."

Tsunade stood, and the two women hurried out the door. The room became silent, and for a time no one dared to move. Someone coughed. That was all it took to break the spell. In another instant, everything had shifted back to normalcy. Everyone here had seen such cases of urgency - it was inevitable in this line of work. Soon the incident would be forgotten. But Iruka could not brush it off as the others had, because he had heard what Shizune had said. Something had happened to Team Seven. His former students were on that team. It was the mission that he had not wanted them to take. Iruka gripped his pencil in anger. At times such as these, he truly hated his job. He knew that all the children that he taught were tools being honed for unavoidable sacrifice. He only hoped that Naruto and Sakura were alright. Although it was cruel, he hoped that it was someone else that Tsunade had rushed to.

He waited for two days for word of his students, and each night his heart sank further. In those days, no one had been allowed into the hospitals except to be admitted, and he had been turned away at the door. He had lost students before, but he could never grow immune to the sting. And in his melancholy, he found that there was one man that he could blame exclusively for his loss. Kakashi.

At last, Iruka steeled himself to go again to the hospital. He could not stand not knowing what had happened, even if it was not his place. Tsunade had not been seen in her office in those two days, and he knew that it must have been because she had not been able to leave the hospital. That meant that she was needed there, and that whoever it was she had been called to help still needed her help. That meant that whoever was dying was - for the moment - still alive.

When he arrived, he was reluctantly allowed in -- due only to the severity of his threats.

"Where is Naruto?" Iruka demanded of the first nurse he found. She hesitated, but he refused to be turned away. "Tell me," he said sternly. She pointed down the hall, to a room in the critical wing of the hospital. His heart plummeted. He ran to the door, but it opened on its own. He ran straight into none other than Naruto himself. Iruka blinked.

"Iruka-sensei, what are you doing here?" the boy asked, surprised. Although bags hung under his eyes, and they were red with exhaustion, he was far from dying.

"You're alright! I was so worried! Is Sakura hurt?"

Naruto frowned, and he clenched his fists.

"No," he said, grimly. His face became dark and distressed. "She's with Kakashi-sensei."

"Kakashi?" repeated Iruka, confused. Naruto gestured to the room.

"Yeah," he looked at the ground. "She's helping Tsunade baa-san."

"With what?"

Naruto frowned again, and nodded towards the room. He acted as though it were obvious.

"With Kakashi-sensei."

Iruka's eyes widened.

"Kakashi's in there?" he breathed, finally understanding the situation. It hadn't been his students that Tsunade had rushed to save, it had been Kakashi. "Oh my."

Naruto bit his lip.

"Yeah." The boy scratched his head sadly. "The old lady made me leave, so that she could. . . work. She told me to rest."

Iruka blinked again, fully realizing Naruto's bedraggled state. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. Iruka was shocked. He pinched the bridge of his nose, and glanced in through the tiny window on the hospital door. It was chaotic. He could see a silver tuft of hair; he turned away. He had not expected this.

"Naruto, come with me. Let's get you something to eat." He put his arm on the boy's shoulder.

"That's okay, I'm not hungry."

Iruka looked at his former student in disbelief. But Naruto's stomach growled, and he knew the boy was lying.

"Come on, let's go."

Naruto came with reluctantly, and they went together to the cafeteria, because he refused to leave the hospital. They sat at a table, and Naruto ate slowly, and without any of his normal enthusiasm. Iruka could not bring himself to ask what had happened. But clearly, it had been something horrible. Tsunade had been working for two days straight -- all of that time, Iruka realized, on Kakashi. Well, Iruka thought, it served him right. He had warned the jounin about this mission, and although he had not anticipated that Kakashi would be the one to come into harm's way, he could not deny that he was relieved that it had been him and not one of his students.

Iruka immediately scolded himself. It was wrong for him to think that way, even if it was how he felt. And even if it was how he felt, he had never seen Naruto so forlorn. Not since Sasuke had left. Naruto had seen Kakashi in the hospital before, but it had never been so serious as this. Iruka would not say it, but he knew from experience that, for those who were taken into the critical wing, there was a a very slim possibility of their coming out of it; in fact, he had a feeling that Tsunade was merely prolonging the inevitable. However, it would do no good for Naruto to hear that.

"Naruto, have you gone home yet?"

The boy shook his head. Just as Iruka had guessed.

"I think that you should."

Naruto crossed his arms.

"I can't do that. What if something happens?"

"Naruto, Tsunade-sama knows what she's doing. And I think that she would agree."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, but before he could speak, someone else did.

"She does agree," said a woman's voice behind them. Both turned. It was Tsunade herself, looking just as worn as Naruto, if not more. Sakura stood at her side, pale. "I want both of you to go home."

"But - "

"No buts. Whatever happens will happen whether you're here or not. I want you two to rest."

Iruka stood.

"Tsunade-sama, I'll take them home."

"Thank you, Iruka-sensei." Tsunade looked at him strangely then. "How exactly did you get in here?"

Iruka blushed, and laughed nervously.

"Through the door?" he offered. Tsunade snorted, but said no more about it. Iruka led Naruto and Sakura down the hall. He caught a glimpse of Tsunade as he glanced back. She flopped into an empty chair, and the way she did so did not seem encouraging. He was glad that his former students had not seen it. "Let's go, you guys."


	6. Chapter 6

In the next days, Kakashi's condition did not improve, but it did not worsen. A week had passed since Team Seven had returned. Iruka saw Naruto a few times in the interim, but his days were filled with teaching at the academy, and with working at the mission's desk, and so he did not have a decent chance to ask Naruto what exactly had happened to Kakashi. He was not sure if Naruto would tell him even if he asked.

Personally, Iruka thought very little about _that_ man. Beyond what he could do for his students, the incident no longer concerned him. Of course, Iruka did not hope that Kakashi would die. Simply put, he was indifferent.

However, every so often, at quiet moments when he would rest his eyes, he remembered the coldness of hospital rooms, and the lonliness of uncertainty. Yet he pushed this aside. The copy-nin had brought this on himself, and so when he thought on him at all, wavering in those unfeeling rooms, it was with measured bitterness and impassiveness.

The following week, Tsunade sent Naruto on a mission with Gai's team, to distract him - for if there was ever a source of perpetual distraction, it was Gai. The green-clad man was under strict instructions not to mention his eternal rival. Iruka wondered when they would be back.

On his way home from work, he found the boy completely by chance. He had walked past the training grounds to relax after such a stressful week, when he saw a small orange figure laying in the grass. It was Naruto, and he was breathing hard. It was clear that he had been training. Iruka went to him.

"That's dedication," he said, leaning over his former student. Naruto sprang into the air.

"Iruka-sensei!" he shouted excited to see the man. He had been gone all week, and so a friendly face was more than welcome. Especially the one of his old sensei. Iruka mussed his hair; he was happy to see that Naruto was not as disheartened as when he had found him in the hospital two weeks prior. Apparently, Gai had done his job. Although there still remained a distinct mellowness to him that could not be credited to exhaustion.

"How was the mission?"

Naruto stuck out his lip.

"Iruka-sensei, you know I'm not allowed to say. . . "

Iruka laughed. So the rascal was learning a thing or two. That was good. After hundreds of reminders to be less revealing about what were supposed to be_ confidential_ missions, it was about time he had taken the lesson to heart. The tough facade did not last long.

"Ah, but it was sooo cool." He folded his arms, morose almost. "Gai-sensei is so weird." He narrowed his eyes, glancing around. "But he's SO strong!"

Iruka laughed again.

"Is that why you were training so hard? Right after a mission, even."

The boy shuffled, twisting the ball of his foot into the dirt.

"No. . . "

"Just training?"

"No. . . "

"Huh, what for then?" Naruto had obviously worn himself out. A quick glance at his clothes was proof enough of that; there were tears and stains everywhere. His fists were bruised, and his shoulders slumped with tiredness.

Naruto shrugged, rubbing the back of his head, and averting his eyes.

"No reason."

Iruka frowned. Naruto was not a secretive person. There was something wrong. He patted him on the back.

"You know, you can tell me if you want to." He put a hand on either of the boy's shoulders. Naruto stared at the ground.

"I just. . . have to be stronger."

Iruka raised an eyebrow.

"I don't think that's the whole story." The academy teacher leaned in close, coming down to the same eye level as his old student. He had guessed what it was that was bothering Naruto so. "I know that you're worried about Kakashi-sensei. But you can't blame yourself for these things --"

"But sensei," Naruto paused, biting his lip, "it was my fault."

Iruka smiled kindly.

"Naruto, you're a compassionate person, so of course you feel responsible. But Kakashi set out on this mission knowing the risks --"

"No, sensei, you don't understand. It really was my fault."

"How do you mean, Naruto? I don't think that your having been stronger could have prevented this. You are more capable than you know."

"Iruka-sensei," said Naruto with an air of finality. "He jumped in front of the enemy because I wasn't paying attention. He did it to save me and Sakura."

Iruka blinked. He had assumed that Kakashi had been reckless - as he always was in Iruka's eyes - and had been injured on his own. He had not known that Kakashi had sacrificed himself for his students. In fact, Iruka had accused him of _not caring_ for his students.

"Naruto, will you tell me how it happened?"

The boy nodded somewhat hesitantly, and they sat down together in the grass. Naruto explained how he had tried to use the rasengan, and how it had failed. He explained how the enemy had went after Sakura and himself after that, and how the two of them had not dodged in time to avoid the attack. Naruto remembered looking up to see the hulking Earth-nin plummeting towards him and how, when he had looked next, it was to his sensei standing above him. Kakashi had used chidori, and Naruto had thought that his sensei had beaten the enemy; he had not understood the look of defeat that had flashed in Kakashi's eyes. Sakura had, and gasped, 'he's too close.' Yet there had been no other way for him to protect them but to get close. The enemy had grabbed his arm and trapped him in place, and the punch that had been meant to destroy Naruto and Sakura was dealt to him.

"I think that he knew that the punch would hurt him. . . a lot. . . that's why when he hit the Earth-nin with Chidori, he had an exploding tag in his hand that he left in the enemy's wound. That way, he could stop the enemy even if he got knocked out. . . and we wouldn't get hurt.

He knew that the Earth-nin would go after him, after he did that. He only blew up the seal once the enemy had him, because that way me and Sakura would be far enough away that the explosion would not reach us."

Iruka was silent. While he had never doubted Kakashi's prowess, he had always doubted his reliability. The man was constantly late, constantly indulging in questionable reading material, and constantly putting his students at risk - or so Iruka had believed. Hearing this made him rethink everything. He felt guilty, for having had so little faith in the other, and for thinking ill of him. And he felt guilty for having wished that Kakashi would be injured instead of those he cared for. In fact, he had even been angry with the jounin, that his dying was upsetting so many people around him. Most poignantly, however, he remembered the day the three had set out for Grass Country, and the last thing Kakashi had said to him - 'I protect my precious people.'

"Have you told this to Tsunade-sama?" asked Iruka. Naruto nodded.

"That's why she had Sakura help her, because she needed someone who had seen what had happened." Naruto looked at his feet, and became quiet. "Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei is going to die because of me."

Iruka turned to Naruto in surprise.

"No, Naruto," he said, looking the boy in the eyes. "If he dies, it will not be because of you. It will be for you. There is a difference. You should be honored that he cares so much for you, that he is willing to die for you." Iruka spoke from experience. There had been a time many years ago when he had done the same thing. He had been willing to die for Naruto, too.

"That dumb old man." Naruto sniffed. "Sensei, do _you_ think he's going to die?"

"I don't know, Naruto." Iruka put an arm around Naruto's shoulder. "But I know that Kakashi is a strong ninja, and that Tsunade-sama is a strong healer. So anything is possible."

"That's what Gai-sensei said, too," said the boy, rubbing his nose.

Iruka stood and pulled Naruto to his feet.

"Well, great minds think alike." Iruka stopped himself from cringing; he realized he had just compared himself to Gai. He shrugged it off. It was not such a bad thing to be compared to him. At least Gai had had the heart to visit his rival. Iruka had not even done that for the man who had saved his students. He had hardly given him a passing thought. "Let's get you home."

Naruto smiled weakly.

"Thank you, sensei."

Iruka mussed the boy's yellow hair.

"No problem."

Iruka walked Naruto home, and arrived back at his own apartment.

He sat at his kitchen table, with a cup of tea that he let go cold, and realized that he had been entirely wrong about Kakashi. The full weight of the situation fell upon his shoulders, and now when he closed his eyes, it was to the image of a tired man, left alone in a white bed. It was to a man undeserved of his harsh assumptions.

He would have to do something about it.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day Iruka went to the hospital.

He knocked timidly at the door, and when there was no answer, he went inside. Kakashi had not yet woken up. He had been unconscious for almost two weeks.

The room was empty and deathly silent. Iruka bit his lip, and walked over to the bed. He felt like an intruder.

When he glanced at the bed, he gasped in surprise at its occupant.

Kakashi looked nothing like himself. Well, Iruka did not know _precisely_ what Kakashi looked like, as his face was always hidden. But there was always a certain air, a certain strength about him, that made him easily recognizable. There was nothing strong about the man that lay in the bed. This man could have been crushed by the weight of a thimble.

His skin was pale, and his eyes were closed with deep purple circles beneath them. A respirator covered the bottom half of his face. His chest rose and fell slowly and laboriously. His torso was wrapped in bandages, and one leg was in a cast. There were smaller bandages covering the whole of his body. A green and black bruise snaked its way around his neck in the perfect semblance of a hand. Iruka covered his mouth.

He glanced at the chart at the foot of the bed. The list of injuries seemed endless. Kakashi had broken bones that the chuunin had not even heard of. Iruka remembered what Naruto had told him. Not only had Kakashi taken a blow that would have killed a lesser man, he had also withstood an explosion that had killed his enemy.

Kakashi murmured something in his sleep. It sounded like a name. Iruka did not recognize it. He sat down in the chair next to the bed. For some reason, he did not want to leave the man alone. Not now, when it seemed that a reaper was waiting anxiously for him to turn his back.

And there was no one visiting him, although Gai had left numerous green get well cards -- the best of which reading 'a challenge: who can live the longest. You are losing. Please don't lose.' Tsunade continued to distract Naruto and Sakura from the gravity of the situation by sending them away, and the village was shorthanded in any case, and needed everyone in order to fill its demands.

He placed the flowers on the table.

Right now, Iruka felt that this man needed someone to guard him. And for the first time since he had known Kakashi, Iruka was willing to do it. He decided he would stay.

...

The beeping machines sounded too much like chirps. He turned his head. There was no grass, no dirt, no bamboo stalks, and no starry night sky. Just the dimpled, tiled ceiling of a hospital, and the flicker of artificial light. It was such a stark white, it could have been the blinding beams of the moon.

His eyes began to adjust. No, it was just the ceiling.

The room was cold and quiet, and wholly imbued with the melancholy reserved for the dying. Yet he had not died. The tiny start of a grin spread across his face.

"I'm pretty tough, for an old man," he wheezed.

Something jumped beside him. Papers spilled to the floor.

"Kakashi-san, you're awake!"

"I know."

The voice was familiar. But not too familiar.

It ignored him.

"Tsunade-sama! He's awake!"

His eyes rolled over to see who it was that was shouting. Really, it was a hospital. There were people resting. Iruka-sensei, he ought to know better.

_Iruka-sensei?_

Kakashi groaned. Why did he never wake up next to the person he expected? What was Iruka-sensei doing here? If the chuunin were here to say 'I told you so,' then Kakashi felt that he had seriously underestimated the other's maleficence. However, something told him that was not the case. He could not say what exactly, except that vaguely, from amidst his coma induced haze, he remembered the scent of flowers, and the shiff of papers, and the comfort of being watched over.

Heels clicked in the hallway. Actually, they did not so much click as storm.

"I'm glad he's not dead!" He heard a woman's voice shout, barging into the room. "That way I can kill him!" Tsunade clicked over to the bed. A shadow blocked out the yellow glow of the light bulb. Tsunade was looming over him, furious and menacing. Kakashi sunk a little into his pillow. She exhaled deeply, all her anxiety and all her fears whooshing away in a breath of relief. She was building up to something. And then. . .

"What were you _thinking_ throwing yourself into a punch like that!" she shrieked. It was not a question. Kakashi flinched. His head began to throb. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to put you back together!? Moron!"

Kakashi cringed.

"Tsunade-sama, he only just woke up. . . I don't think you should yell at him." Iruka was standing at the foot of the bed. Was the man actually _defending_ him?

"He's been out for two weeks, now is as good a time as any," Tsunade snapped, throwing a mean glare at the academy instructor. She turned on Kakashi. "Look at me when I talk, brat!" She narrowed her eyes. "This has to be the most reckless, most irresponsible, most _asinine_, . . . " Kakashi braced himself. Her fourth insult was always most vicious. "Most self-less thing you've ever done."

Kakashi blinked. Was that meant as an insult? Because it wasn't very insulting. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Iruka grin. Perhaps he had misheard; perhaps she had meant selfish.

"Did you mean selfish?" he asked, in wonder.

Tsunade huffed, sitting down on the bed. Why was she getting so close? Kakashi's eyes widened as she bent over him. _Is she. . . going to kill me? _

She kissed him gingerly on the forehead.

"Naruto told me everything." She looked out the window, her hand coming to rest lightly on one of his arms. She shook her head, and when she looked back at him, her eyes were sincere. "Thank you."

Kakashi blushed. For a moment, she seemed almost _kind_.

She slapped the mattress.

"Guh." The price of her compliments, Kakashi decided, was too steep.

"Next time don't almost die," she barked, back to her harsh, reproving self. She stood. Iruka smiled; under the tough facade, the fifth hokage truly did care for Kakashi. It had been heartwarming to watch. Motherly, even. "Iruka!" _While it lasted._

"Yes, Tsunade-sama."

"Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"No." He scratched his head, confused.

"Then make yourself useful," she cocked her head towards her patient. "Keep an eye on this numbskull. Jiraiya won't be here for another couple of hours." Iruka nodded, understanding.

Kakashi was still in bad shape. It couldn't hurt to keep him under close supervision, even if he was finally conscious. Tsunade lingered in the doorway. She lifted her chin, jaw set.

"Kakashi, play nice. He's been visiting you."

"Oh?" Kakashi raised a brow. Then winced. Somehow, it hurt to raise his eyebrows. Then he realized that they had been singed. Tsunade made a disinterested "hmph" and glanced at Iruka. Her eyes washed over him, curious.

"I don't know why either. I thought the two of you hated each other." She shrugged. "Oh well," and walked out the door.

Kakashi observed Iruka as he collected his scattered papers, suspicious, and just as curious as Tsunade. Why, indeed, was the man here? Kakashi was truly perplexed. It was not as though he hated Iruka. Really, he had no opinion on the other. He knew him only as the face behind the missions desk, and occasionally as Naruto's esteemed confidant. They rarely spoke. Although, he recalled, they had parted last on tense terms. Iruka sat down in a chair next to the bed; clearly, from the way he avoided Kakashi's mismatched gaze, he also remembered.

Kakashi felt like folding his arms. But he couldn't. He felt like turning on his side. But he couldn't. He felt like leaving. But he definitely couldn't. It was going to be a long couple of hours. He stared at the ceiling.

Twenty minutes later, he was still staring.

He had counted almost all of the tiny dots speckling its surface - one million two hundred and three - when Iruka cleared his throat and he lost his place. Kakashi sighed, too bored to be anything more than disappointed. There was the scritching sound of a pen, then the squeak of a marker.

He chanced a glance at his overseer. Grading papers, as he had suspected. Also disappointing. Iruka capped his pen suddenly, and stacked the papers.

"What is it, Kakashi?"

Kakashi had no response. He hadn't thought Iruka to be paying him any attention. Besides, he couldn't tell the truth, that he had been interrupted in his tally of ceiling dots. That would sound ridiculous. Things were awkward enough as it was.

"Nothing, sensei."

Iruka frowned, looking down his nose at the bedridden jounin. Too bad he didn't wear glasses, thought Kakashi detachedly, the effect would have been more impressive. Iruka exhaled loudly, setting his papers on the bed stand.

"You're probably wondering why I'm here." Iruka pinched the scar on his nose.

_Not really. But I suppose you're going to tell me. _He had already decided -- somewhere around dot six thousand sixty -- that he didn't care why the other was here. Currently, he had other things on his mind, such as ceiling dots and keeping himself alive.

Iruka fiddled with the zipper on his vest.

"I feel like we got off on the wrong foot."

Kakashi had to agree. Their bleak acquaintanceship, if it could even be called that, was based on collisions. It was one of head-butts and slights. Yet it had never seemed to bother the pony-tailed chuunin before.

"So?"

"Well. . ." Iruka fiddled with his pen. "Naruto told me what happened. I came to say thank you, and that I shouldn't have doubted you."

Kakashi eyed him dubiously. He thought briefly that he might be hallucinating. There were so many medications coursing through his system, it was entirely possible. However, it seemed an unlikely thing for him to be hallucinating about.

"So. . . this is an apology?"

Iruka flinched.

"Yeah."

Kakashi blinked. Iruka had just _apologized_ to him. Although he hardly knew the chuunin, there was one thing he knew for certain. And that was that Iruka hated to apologize. Kakashi turned to the other man, incredulous. He thought about his next words, knowing someplace in the back of his battered head that it was important that he say something affable. After all, Kakashi was well aware of the amount of courage it took to apologize.

"Um . . . " Kakashi coughed. ". . . thank you."

Iruka looked at him in surprise. He had expected arrogance and perhaps a noncommittal grunt in response. He had expected it to be humilitiating. But Kakashi was genuine, and it seemed to him that he was thanking him for more than a mere apology.

At that moment, Iruka understood that there was much more to Kakashi than he had realized. He was much more than a mask and a name -- there really was something underneath the underneath. And maybe, just maybe, he was actually worth getting to know.

For the moment, however, Iruka had realized something much _more_ important. The respirator had long ago fallen off. And there was a face beneath it. And he had just seen it.

Kakashi felt that it made for a fitting metaphor. The reaction was a bonus.

Because Iruka had promptly fainted.


End file.
